THE STARS COME OUT TO PLAY
CONSTELLATIONS — Nick Payne’s lovely play about how we can discover the love of our lives in ‘the quantum multiverse’ — is heading back to the West End. And perhaps it’s written in the stars that Michael Longhurst, who first directed the show back in 2012 at the Royal Court with Rafe Spall and Sally Hawkins, should be staging it again. The Donmar Warehouse, where Longhurst is now artistic chief, is being refurbished (and an air filtering system installed) and is closed until the autumn. So, instead, the Vaudeville will become the Donmar’s home for Constellations from June 18 until September 12 — with a quartet of couples performing in repertory as Roland (a beekeeper) and Marianne (an academic specialising in early universe cosmology). The season, which has 500 free tickets for those under 26; and 5,000 seats under £20, begins with Ivanno Jeremiah (Humans) and Sheila Atim (soon to be seen in the phenomenal Amazon Prime series The Underground Railroad). They’ll be followed by Peter Capaldi (Dr Who) and Zoe Wanamaker (My Family); Omari Douglas (It’s A Sin) and Russell Tovey (Years And Years); and Chris O’Dowd (Bridesmaids, The IT Crowd) and Anna Maxwell Martin (Motherland). All eight actors are ‘vibrant, funny and quicksilver in their own way,’ said Longhurst, adding that the multi-cast model offered him a wealth of possibilities. And as it is only 70 minutes long, it will enable them to do 11-12 socially distanced shows a week which may help the Donmar — and co-producers Eleanor Lloyd and Wessex Grove — break even. n DONMAR members’ priority booking from 10am April 13 via nimaxtheatres.com